ABOUT

The Misfit Film Festival is the first ever festival dedicated to films made with intention. It’s a curated stage for audacious filmmakers who seek to engage their audience with original work that nobody else could make. If you’re looking for half-baked, mediocre, unremarkably average films, please politely stop reading. The Misfit Film Festival will premiere proudly in Fargo, North Dakota. Fargo is a geographical misfit. It is town of artists and craftspeople, burgeoning with creativity in the middle of the Midwest. It’s the perfect place to host the inaugural Misfit Film Festival in tandem with Misfit Con.

At the close of the Misfit Film Festival 2014, we announced an exciting and rare opportunity for aspiring and established script-writers. This summer, we are running a competition to find the best script that we will develop into a short film and screen at next year's Misfit Film Festival. Check out the competition section at the bottom of this page to find out more.

FESTIVAL MANIFESTO

This is a festival for those less inclined to live like the masses. This is a festival for those who dare to live in defiance of a system of well-intentioned parents and friends that only want us to fall in line. This is a festival for those that travel on their own path.

FESTIVAL DATE

June 1st

LOCATION

Fargo, ND

BY CAR

Fargo is easy to reach from Minneapolis and Bismarck via I-94. Sioux Falls is also a straight drive via I-29.

BY TRAIN

Daily train service operate from Chicago and Minneapolis via the Empire Builder Line with Amtrak. The train station is a comfortable five minute walk to the Fargo Theatre in downtown.

BY AIRPLANE

Hector Field Airport is a 15 minutes drive into downtown Fargo.

Winner Takes All

We are proud to announce that Spencer Brown's 'The Boy with a Camera for a Face' has been chosen as the official winner of the Misfit Film Festival 2014!

Submission Guidelines

Here’s what you need to know

Official Entry Deadline: May 15

Entry Fee: None

Original Work: Your film must be your own original work, meaning that you must have been one of the principal creators and have the right to submit it to this competition and authorize it to be screened to the general public. Don’t steal.

Finished Works: Submit only completed work.

Schedule

Finalists

Entries for this years festival have now closed and we are delighted to be able to announce this year's shortlist, congratulations to those who have got through, we received a lot of entries and the standard was extremely high. We really would encourage anyone who was disappointed this year to continue making films and submit their work to next year's festival. Here is the shortlist:

The Truth About Stanley Neil Westley

A Window Between Worlds Whitney Gray Allen

The Boy With the Camera for a Face Spencer Brown

Woodhouse Fred Rowson

Knock Down Drag Out Doug Goodwin

We Are Also Very Lonely Joel Marchand

A Better Life Connor Holt

Paint Dreams Stephanie Lactsu

Shooting Star Chuck Miller

The Denouement Samuel Claeys

Passenger Ed Rigg

#standwithme Patrick Moreau and Grant Peelle

The Hammer and The Ax Greg Carlson

365 Days in Happy Valley Erik Proulx

Call for Scripts

We have opened up a worldwide search for a fictional short film script that encapsulates the word ‘misfit’. We are searching for a remarkable piece of writing and would like to encourage anyone to enter. Maybe you haven’t yet taken the step of putting your idea down on paper, or perhaps you are someone who has always written but hasn’t had the exposure you’ve deserved, either way we want to read your work.

We want to leave room for as much imagination as possible, but here are a few sentences that might help inspire you: “Misfits take risks and go on adventures, and yet, they are connected by pushing the boundaries with the extraordinary things they do, or the art they create. Misfits know that taking risks may not be easy, and leaps into the unknown take courage, but it is the journey and the learnings that come with taking risks that make the outcome worthwhile.”

Screenwriters should adhere to the following criteria:

Bear in mind this will be filmed in the UK and/or North America (no extended scenes in the Far East please!).

Writers should aim to keep the length of their scripts to 20 pages or less.

Fiction only.

Any genre is allowed, comedy, satire, drama, etc.

Predominantly English language.

No animation.

Submissions are now open here, and will remain open until October 1st 2014. Please submit by filling in the short form below.

Terms and Conditions

THE LEGAL STUFF

By entering, each participant agrees to:

(a) comply with and be bound by these Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are binding and final in all matters relating to the Promotion;

(b) release and hold harmless the Sponsor, its parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, Prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Contest and Promotion, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, members, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, including but not limited to invasion of privacy (under appropriation, intrusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light in the public eye or other legal theory), defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights arising out of or relating to a participant’s Entry, participation in the Promotion and/or acceptance or use or misuse of Prize; provided however, that such release will not apply to any commercial exploitation of the Script by a Released Party in violation of your rights under applicable copyright law; and

(c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Sponsor from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of or relating to an entrant’s participation in the Promotion and/or entrant’s acceptance, use or misuse of Prize.

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES

You hereby warrant and represent the following:

You are the exclusive owner and sole author of the Script, such that the Script is your original creative work and your submission thereof will not infringe, misappropriate or violate the intellectual property, privacy or other rights of any third party; and/or you have obtained prior written authorization to act on behalf of any co-creators of the Script;

Neither your execution of this agreement nor your participation of in the Promotion, including your submission of the Script, will conflict with or violate any term or condition of any other agreement to which you are a party, including but not limited to any union or guild regulation;

There are no threatened, pending or current claims, actions or lawsuits in connection with the Script and you agree to notify Pipeline immediate upon your notification of any such claims, actions or suits;

You are submitting the Script voluntarily on a non-confidential basis;

You are at least eighteen (18) years of age; and

You have the right, authority, and capacity to enter into this agreement, and you agree to abide and be bound the terms and conditions herein.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

By accepting your Entry, including your submission of the Script, we in no way grant you any additional rights therein or otherwise expand the scope of your rights under applicable copyright laws. You are solely responsible for protecting your rights in the Script, including without limitation, for filing or registering the Script with the Writers Guild of America and/or the United States Copyright Office. However, you retain all rights to the Script itself and any material submitted to the Promotion.

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

The relationship between you and Misfit Inc is one of independent contractors. Neither party will represent that it has any authority to assume or create any obligation, express or implied, on behalf of the other party, or to represent the other party as agent, employee, or in any other capacity, except as specifically provided herein

15. GENERAL CONDITIONS

Misfit Incorporated reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Promotion, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Misfit Incorporated’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest, as determined by Misfit Incorporated in its sole discretion. Misfit Incorporated reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the Entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Rules or any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Misfit Incorporated reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Misfit Incorporated’s failure to enforce any term of these Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

16. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

The Released Parties are not responsible for:

(1) any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Entrants, printing errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Promotion;

(2) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software;

(3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Entry process or the Promotion;

(4) technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Promotion or the processing of Entries; or

(5) any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from Entrant’s participation in the Promotion or receipt or use or misuse of any Prize.